UBC's Major Entrance Scholarships: Deadlines, the Personal Profile, and the Interview Process

UBC's Two Major Entrance Scholarships

UBC runs two separate major entrance scholarships for Canadian students. The Presidential Scholars Award recognizes overall achievement in academics, leadership, and community involvement. The Centennial Scholars Entrance Award targets students who could not attend UBC without significant financial help. You can apply for both in the same cycle if you meet each award's own criteria.

Neither award needs a nomination from your school. You apply directly through your own UBC application, and both stay open to Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and protected persons entering directly from high school.

What Each One Pays

The Presidential Scholars Award gives a one time award of about $5,000 plus a renewable scholarship over four years, worth up to $80,000 on the Vancouver campus or $40,000 on the Okanagan campus. The Centennial Scholars Entrance Award provides up to $80,000 spread over four years, aimed at students who show financial need alongside strong academics.

Both sit well above UBC's general entrance scholarships, which most admitted students receive without any extra application, based on their admission average alone.

The Personal Profile Replaces a Live Interview

UBC does not run a formal interview round for most applicants to either major scholarship. Your Personal Profile carries the weight an interview would at other universities: a set of short written responses about your experiences, challenges, and accomplishments, submitted alongside your regular UBC application.

Some programs add extra components on top of the Personal Profile as part of their own program level admission review, separate from the major scholarship application itself. Check your specific program's requirements on UBC's application checklist rather than assuming the Personal Profile is the only piece involved.

The December 1 Deadline Is Fixed for Both Awards

Both major entrance scholarships use the same date. Your full UBC application, your Personal Profile, and any extra scholarship documents are due December 1. UBC states that every section, including the application fee, has to be complete by then to qualify, so a late or partial submission removes you from consideration for that admission cycle.

The Centennial Scholars Entrance Award adds its own Description of Circumstance, up to 1,000 words on your personal, family, and financial situation, a parent or guardian form if you attended high school in the past four years, and a reference form from someone who knows you well, all due the same December 1 date.

What to Put in Your Personal Profile

Since there is no interview to explain a thin written answer, your Personal Profile has to carry your full case on its own. Write about specific actions you took and specific results, not a general description of your interests, since that is what a reader without an interview to fall back on responds to.

For the Centennial Scholars Entrance Award, be direct and specific in your Description of Circumstance about your financial situation. Vague statements about financial difficulty give the review committee less to work with than concrete numbers and context.

When You Find Out

UBC sends admission decisions on a rolling basis starting in January. Presidential Scholars Award decisions are typically sent by late April (around April 27); Centennial Scholars Entrance Award decisions come later, typically by May 15. An admission offer without scholarship news yet does not mean you were turned down for either award, since the two decisions run on separate timelines.